Physical Therapy Software: What’s the ROI on an EMR Anyway?

Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Speech Language Pathologists practice owners often wonder if there’s really a need to switch from paper to  digital and use a physical therapy software like the electronic medical record (EMR) system. Is it really worth making the change in your career in therapy?

There are free, easy-to-use online ROI calculators available that can help private therapy practice owners and managers know if it’s worth the capital and time investment.

If you’re a PT, OT or SLP who runs your own private practice and considering an EMR, you can actually see how much ROI this program can generate. They are easy to find online. Just search using physical therapy ROI calculator as keywords.

What Makes One EMR Different From Another?

There are many physical therapy EMR options available in the market. Choosing the solution that’s right for your therapy practice doesn’t have to be a daunting task. During your search, it’s important to always stay focused on the needs of your practice and not the software.

Using an online ROI calculator and simply putting numbers like your average monthly visits, average net revenue per visit, annual revenue, number of unpaid claims, billing cost per claim, percent of appointment reminders reaching your customers successfully and the number of no-shows and cancellations into the calculator can really help you see the potential benefits of switching from paper to electronic. In fact, electronic medical records are quickly becoming the way of the near future. In most cases, switching to a physical therapy EMR produces positive results.

Improve Revenue

Physical therapy software improves revenue and collections by allowing providers to instantly submit claims and receive status updates in real-time via bi-directional clearing house integration. There are physical therapy EMR systems out there that automatically capture every billable treatment directly from the PT documentation, so therapists always have the support for a denied claim should one occur. Through this automated process, organizations have increased their charges by as much as 10-20 percent. Therapy practice solution can also alert you when a patient approaches their authorized treatment limit and display a patient’s referral status before each visit. All these functions of an EMR can significantly help improve revenue in your practice.

Reduce No-Shows and Cancellations

With private practice facilities currently averaging 13-18 percent no-shows and cancellations per year, appointment system reminders are emerging as a way to reduce or eliminate them all together. Your current automated reminder system could be costing as much as $.25/reminder. Manual calls take up staff time and are costly as well.

There are some physical therapy scheduling software programs out there that can automatically send text, phone or email reminders to patients and are including at no additional cost. Make sure you go with a software solution that offers automated reminders at no cost – there really is such a thing.

Keep Your Referring Physicians Happy

Physical therapy EMR systems can also help you keep your referring physicians satisfied. Many EMR solutions out there are designed to strengthen relationships with referring physicians and ultimately help grow your practice. The nice thing some practice management solutions feature are instant one-page summary plan of care reports that provide referring physicians with information on their patient’s treatment, which are commonly sent by fax or a secure online portal – all before the patient even leaves the office.

Now that you’ve heard some of the benefits of switching from paper to a physical therapy software such as the EMR, find out how much revenue one can generate for your practice.

 

MediServe’s Attigo Therapy is a Web-based physical therapy software solution designed for private practice rehab. From scheduling, free appointment reminders and documentation, to billing and true bi-directional clearinghouse integration, you’ll successfully manage your practice while boosting profits. MediServe’s 20+ years of experience stands above the rest in addressing the needs of private practice rehab.

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